• 7bicycles [he/him]@hexbear.net
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    9 months ago

    Another user here told me the average american hike is 3 miles and I have not been able to get that off my brain since. That’s the shit I do with a friend on a hangover to get some fresh air

    • SacredExcrement [any, comrade/them]@hexbear.net
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      9 months ago

      You have to remember two things

      1. Many Americans live in suburbs where 3 miles might get you out of the suburb

      2. America’s car brained infrastructure design means most places have incredibly shit accommodations for pedestrians

      • 7bicycles [he/him]@hexbear.net
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        9 months ago

        I mean I get the socioeconomic reasons, I think what irks me most is calling 3 miles a hike. That’s a walk. It’s fine to do a walk, it’s just not hiking

    • john_browns_beard [he/him, comrade/them]@hexbear.net
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      9 months ago

      In most of the popular hiking spots in my state, once you go a mile down a trail there’s like nobody around.

      IMO it’s more about duration than mileage. You can’t call it a hike if it’s under an hour, that’s a walk. I’m of the opinion that if you can do it comfortably without drinking water it’s probably a walk. That said, three miles can definitely be a hike, there are plenty of trails in the northeast US that will give you >2000 feet of elevation gain in that distance.

      • 7bicycles [he/him]@hexbear.net
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        9 months ago

        Much like the BMI is useless if you’re a bodybuilder statistic I’m fairly certain the average hike in the US or anywhere is not made up of a significant enough amount of hiking straight up a vertical wall to make this statistic entirely worthless